Police / Fire

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POSTED: Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Knife-wielding man robs guard

Police are looking for a man who robbed a security guard at knifepoint yesterday in Manoa.

Police said a 25-year-old male guard was making his morning rounds near the National Marine Fisheries Service offices when a man came up from behind and began choking him. He then threatened the guard with a knife, took his personal belongings and held him for 20 minutes, police said. The guard suffered abrasions.

The suspect fled on foot and remains at large, police said.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Crash victim found in Big Island brush

A man believed to be the victim of a fatal one-vehicle crash early Saturday was not found until yesterday, according to Big Island police.

At 2:45 p.m. yesterday, state Department of Transportation workers found a vehicle off Hawaii Belt Road near the 5-mile marker in Panaewa, just outside Hilo. The vehicle was found in heavy brush.

The truck ran off the right side of the road, struck a "No Parking" sign, swerved to the left into the median, struck a tree, then dropped about 10 to 15 feet below the highway, police said.

Police said Kalani was wearing a seatbelt and they believe alcohol was a factor. This is the 21st traffic fatality on the Big Island, compared with 32 at this time last year .

Kauai slaying suspect has record

KAPAA, Kauai » A man in police custody in connection with the shooting death of another man on Sunday was arrested in January 2007 for attempted murder of a police officer, according to a Kauai County news release.

Payton Allen Rapozo, 22, had not been charged with any crimes related to the shooting as of 8 a.m. today.

Police arrested Rapozo for investigation of second-degree murder after a 43-year-old man was shot to death at about 2:50 p.m. Sunday at a home on Kawaihau Road.

County public information officer Mary Daubert said the death escalated from a domestic dispute at the victim's home. The victim's name has not been released. In a news release issued this morning Daubert said the victim was the boyfriend of Rapozo's mother.

The release said Rapozo was subdued by relatives at the scene. The release also said that a .22 caliber gun was used in the shooting but that it had not been determined yet who owned the gun.

In the previous case involving the police officer, Rapozo pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault and first-degree terroristic threatening on April 30, 2007, according to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center. On July 12, 2007, he was sentenced to one year in prison, according to state records.

Daubert said police had 48 hours in which to file charges against Rapozo in connection with the shooting.

Motorcyclist killed in crash with truck

A 62-year-old North Kohala man died Sunday when the motorcycle he was driving collided head-on with a pickup truck on Kohala Mountain Road on the Big Island.

Police said the victim, whose name was not released, was traveling north on a custom motorcycle at 2:49 p.m. when he failed to make a curve in the road, crossed the center line and crashed into the pickup headed the other way.

The victim was pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital.

The driver of the truck, a 55-year-old Kapaau man, was not hurt, police said.

The victim was not wearing a helmet, police said. Police added that speed was a factor in the crash.

This is the 20th traffic fatality on the Big Island this year compared with 31 at this time last year.

HONOLULU

Man arrested in illegal home entry

Police arrested a 54-year-old man who was caught allegedly inside a woman's home in downtown Honolulu.

Police said a 43-year-old woman was sleeping at about 5:25 p.m. yesterday when she heard her front door open. She thought one of her sons had returned home, police said.

Police said she saw a man inside her apartment and screamed. The man fled, but was found nearby on Vineyard Boulevard. He was arrested on suspicion of unauthorized entry into a dwelling.